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Yesterday was Father’s Day, and for most of you — being the good little children we know you are — it was the day you took your dad out to breakfast, showered him with praise for his new haircut and helped him with his newest project: remodeling or fixing or painting something. If you’re a true golden child, you may have even bought him a spanking new tie to go along with the Christmas tie, the birthday tie and last year’s Father’s Day tie you got him. Your dad deserves more than a single annual tribute to fatherhood, however. We at the Clog want to remind you of a few reasons you should appreciate your father, even when it’s not Father’s Day.

He would take a bullet (or shoot one) for you. If you are a daughter, chances are, each time you brought a boy home, whether or not the relationship was romantic, your dad was itching to grab his shotgun. If your dad was like some of our dads, he may have literally grabbed it. No matter what, your dad is the No. 1 proponent of your safety and well-being and would gladly take on the job of your own personal bodyguard if the position were available.

He will do almost anything to make you laugh. Whether your dad is the dancing type, the singing type or the crack-jokes-until-they-crack-a-smile type, fathers love to make their kids laugh. They will stop at nothing, throwing dignity out the window and making themselves look like fools in order to brighten your day. In fact, if you pride yourself on your inappropriate joke-telling, it’s likely your own worst jokes may have come from Pop himself.

He taught you random life skills. Dads are kings of knowing seemingly useless but actually extremely helpful bits of information, like how to set up a tent in the dark with only half of the tent poles and only a cellphone for light — or how to open a beer with another beer (or 30 different objects; check this out if your dad failed to teach you this life skill). If you ever find yourself with a leaky roof, just remember the tricks your dad always tried to teach you using sealant and primer and duct tape. Or just call him and have him walk you through it.

As much as he tries, he can’t quite grasp modern technology. Everyone needs a little comic relief throughout the hectic college life, and your dad is often the man to give it to you. Nothing lightens your mood better than getting an awkwardly worded and strangely abbreviated text from Pop. Not to mention the fact that anyone who signs every text “Love, Dad” has won over our hearts. Explaining to him that “LOL” actually does not mean “lots of love” meant the end of so much entertainment, but we had to do it. Dads may never be as hip as they think they are, but we love them so much more because of it.

He gives it to you straight. Dads have a special gift of knowing when to sugarcoat things and when to be brutally honest. Most of the time, we don’t like to admit it, but they’re pretty spot-on as far as life advice goes. Your dad always has your best interests at heart, and even if you can’t stand his critiques about your driving or opinions on your life plans, he’s only trying to prepare you for the big, mean real world out there.

If you’re home for the summer, make an effort to hang out with your dad once a week or at least give him a nonobligatory hug on a day that isn’t Father’s Day. And if you’re in Berkeley or somewhere else for the summer, call your dad and let him know what you’re up to every once in a while — maybe thank him for teaching you how to change the oil in your car.

About this blog

The Daily Clog (Cal+Blog) accumulates various tidbits about Berkeley and college life. We focus on the UC campus, the city of Berkeley and Berkeley’s online community. We give our two cents on all the goings-on.